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MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type
The MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type is a Mobile Suit introduced in the Mobile Suit Gundam television series. This variant looks very similar to the standard MS-06F Zaku II, so much so, that the Earth Federation can generally only tell the difference from color schemes most pilots apply to their units and the increased performance of this version. Technology & Combat Characteristics The S-Type Zaku II has an antenna on the head for enhanced communication capabilities and to visually distinguish squad-leaders or higher ranking pilots from other squad-members or lower ranking pilots. Commanders are also allowed to paint their machine in personal colors. It also features a higher output powerplant that gave the S-Type Zaku II greater thrust and acceleration. This allows it to move at speeds three times faster than a standard Zaku II. However, since no changes were made to the fuel tanks, the S-Type's operating time is shortened as a result.Futabasha, Common Knowledge of Gundam: Mobile Suits of the One Year War, p. 47 Despite this limitation, the S-Type proved to be incredibly dangerous in the hands of the ace pilots it was assigned to, such as the "Red Comet" Char Aznable, who sank 5 ''Magellan''-Class Battleships in the Battle of Loum. It was noted in an extra feature that came with the Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team DVDs that the three times faster figure came about from Char's clever use of terrain and debris to boost off of, saving fuel and increasing his speed compared to normal. Armaments ;*Shoulder Shield :Mounted on the right shoulder, it is a simple defense used to block most incoming physical projectiles. ;*120mm Machine Gun :A standard weapon for Zaku type mobile suits. It is a shell firing gun that does not require energy to be used, however its effectiveness against heavy armor is very limited. It holds 100 rounds per drum with spare drums that can be stored on the waist armor. ;*M-120AC Machine Gun :A model of machine gun with a heat bayonet equipped on the barrel. A limited number of these weapons were produced and used by Zaku II Commander Types for operational testing. :;*Heat Bayonet ::Mounted underneath the barrel of the machine gun, the heat bayonet can damage a mobile suit that gets within melee range, allowing it to serve as a quick defense/offense weapon. ;*MMP-80 90mm Machine Gun :An alternative to the 120mm Machine Gun. It used 90mm bullets instead of 120mm type, allowing for a greater firing speed and better penetration capabilities. Fed by a 32 rounds magazine, it is also integrated with a grenade launcher under its barrel for more firepower. ;*H&L-SB25K/280mmA-P Zaku Bazooka :The 280mm Zaku Bazooka was another weapon that could be equipped to a Zaku type mobile suit and it fires explosive rounds. It is primarily for anti-ship combat and displays its power in hit and run attacks. It can also be used against enemy mobile suits, but it is harder to hit a constantly moving target. Can be stored on the rear waist armor when not in use. ;*Heat Hawk Type 5 :An axe-shaped close combat weapon, it uses a super-heated blade to cut through the armor of enemy MS or vehicles. The thermal energy is generated by the power output of the Zaku II's thermonuclear reactor and relayed through the MS' hands. ;*ZIM/M·T-K175C 175mm Recoilless Rifle :The main gun of the HT-01B Magella Attack main battle tank, it is remodeled as an MS artillery weapon. It is mainly used for long distance attacks in ground combat, and can be loaded with HEAT or APFSDS rounds. ;*MarkVIII Sturm Faust :The Sturm Faust is a simplified, disposable rocket launcher that is good for a single shot. As the warhead is not equipped with a guidance device, it is extremely hard to use the Sturm Faust to hit a moving target accurately. However, it is still a highly destructive portable weapon. ;*MIP-B6 Cracker Grenade :Identical to those used by infantry, the cracker grenade is an explosive weapons designed to be thrown or launched by the MS and detonate after a set amount of time. The "cracker" breaks into several smaller munitions over a wide area. A flash-type variant also exist, which it used to temporarily paralyze the sensors of enemy MS. The Zaku II can optionally equip up to four cracker grenades, that are stored on the left and right waist armor racks, with two on each side. ;*Double Bazooka :A combination of two 280mm bazookas into a single weapon. However, this is not just a joining of two bazookas, it only has a single grip located on the the left barrel and an additional sight is added to improve shooting performance. It has two magazines located at the bottom, increasing the ammunition. Around ten units were produced and used by Black Tri-Stars among others, but it was not officially adopted. Special Equipment & Features ;*Container Backpack :Equipped on the back of Ortega's machine. It is used to store a machine gun and a spare bazooka magazine. It can be discarded with explosive bolts even during combat, and the sides can be mounted with bazookas and heat hawks. History The MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type was introduced during the One Year War at about the same time as the MS-06F Zaku II as a slightly improved version of the F-type Zaku II. For most the One Year War these S-types were the most powerful mobile suits fielded and were piloted by only the best. However the S-Type Zaku's superiority would end in July of 0079 U.C. when the Federation's RX-78 Gundam mobile suit would be rolled out. The Zaku II Commander Type's exact production number is unknown, with different sources giving different numbers. One of the more credible figure is that approximately 100 units were produced.Gundam Officials Encyclopedia, p. 320 Char Aznable would use his custom Zaku II to sortie against the Gundam piloted by Amuro Ray. Despite Amuro Ray's evident talent he was still a novice whose piloting skills simply did not match up to Char's during their early battles. The only reason Amuro Ray survived was because the Gundam greatly outperformed the Zaku II in terms of both offense and defense. Seeing that the Federation could create a mobile suit so powerful it could survive in engagements against Char Aznable likely prompted Zeon to focus more on the development of newer mobile suits, mobile suits that could fight evenly against the new machines the Federation had developed. Though most of these new mobile suits would have superior performance specs than any model of Zaku, the mobile suit that could be called the truest successor to the MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type would be the MS-14S Gelgoog Commander Type, which was also built by the Zeonic Company, the same manufacturers of the Zaku. Variants ;*MS-06S Zaku II Patrol Type Appearances in other media Char's Zaku II is a playable unit in many video games, most recently in Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3. It has made appearances in almost all Gundam-related video games, including Journey to Jaburo, Federation vs. Zeon, Gundam vs Gundam, and others. Gallery MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type Lineart.png|Lineart MS-06S Color Variation.jpg Chars-zaku-morishita.jpg|Zaku II Commander Type (Char Aznable Custom) art by Naochika Morishita Ms-06s-naochika2.jpg|Zaku II Commander Type (Char Aznable Custom): artwork for MG model release by Naochika Morishita Zaku II Commander Type (Gaia custom).jpg|Zaku II Commander Type (Gaia Custom): MSV illustration by Kunio Okawara ms-06s-bts-backpack.jpg|Container Backpack (Ortega use) M-120AC_Zaku_Machinegun_.png|M-120AC Machine Gun (Johnny Ridden use) ms-06s-bts-machinegun.jpg|MS120-AC 120mm Zaku Machine gun w/Heat Bayonet ms-06s-bts-doublebazooka.jpg|Double Bazooka (Black Tri Stars use) ms-06s-bts-heathawk.jpg|Heat Hawk (Black Tri Stars use) ms-06s-jr-bazooka.jpg|280mm Zaku Bazooka (Johnny Ridden use) MS-06S_Zaku.jpg|MS-06S Char's Zaku II (from Gundam Perfect File) MS-06S Char's Zaku II (Mobile Suit Bible Vol 02).jpg|In Mobile Suit Bible Char Zaku II VS Gundam.jpeg|Red Comet Kick: artwork GTBM2 - Zaku IIS.png|Char's Zaku II as featured in Gundam Battle Assault Gundamep02g.jpg|Char's Zaku II's dashing appearance as seen on Mobile Suit Gundam TV series Red Comet Kick.jpg|The famous "Red Comet Kick" (MSG) Gundamep03g.jpg|Gadem's Zaku I being stopped by Char's Zaku II Commander Type (MSG) Ms06s_CharsZakuII_MSIGLOO-HOYW_Episode1.jpg|The 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit's Observation Boat being confronted by Char's Zaku II during the Battle of Loum (from MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War OVA) Ms06s_Char_BattleOfLoum_MSIGLOO_HOYW-OVA_episode1.jpg|Rear view of Char's Zaku II, attacking a Salamis cruiser (MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War) Zaku-S-tristars.jpg|Black Tri-Stars Zaku II Commander Type (Gundam Legacy) A-zaku.jpg|Char's Zaku II (Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3) Zaku2comm-battleoperation2.png|Zaku II Commander Type (Battle Operation 2) Zaku II C Char Gundam Online..png|As seen on the game Gundam Online. Gunpla OldCharZaku-Iropla.jpg|1/250 Iropla MS-06S Char's Zaku (1983): box art 10005537.jpg|1/144 Original Char's Zaku (1980): box art FGCharZaku.jpg|1/144 FG MS-06S Zaku II (Char Aznable custom) (1999): Box art Hguc-ms-06s.jpg|1/144 HGUC MS-06S Zaku II (Char Aznable custom) (2002): Box art Ms-06s-rg-box.jpg|1/144 RG MS-06S Zaku II Char Aznable Custom (2010): Box art RG-Zaku-GFT.jpg|1/144 RG MS-06S Zaku II (Char Aznable Custom) Ver. GFT (Gundam Front Tokyo exclusive; 2013): box art RG-CharZaku-SG.jpg|RG 1/144 MS-06S "Char's Zaku II" Ver. Gundam Docks at Singapore (2015): box art OldCharZaku-100.jpg|1/100 Original Char's Zaku (1981): box art Mg-ms06s.jpg|1/100 MG MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type (Char Aznable Custom) (1995): box art Mg-ms-06s-ver2.jpg|1/100 MG MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type (Char Aznable Custom) (Ver. 2.0; 2007): box art MG_Zaku_II_Commander_Type_%28Char_Aznable_Custom%29_Ver._2.0_Real_Type_Color.jpg|1/100 MG "MS-06S Zaku II Ver. 2.0 (Char Aznable Custom; Real Type Color)" (P-Bandai exclusive; 2012): box art MG_Zaku_II_Commander_Type_%28Black_Tri-Stars%29_Ver._2.0.jpg|1/100 MG "MS-06S Zaku II Ver. 2.0 (Black Tri-Stars Custom)" (P-Bandai exclusive; 2012): box art MG_Johnny_Ridden%27s_Zaku_II.jpg|1/100 MG "MS-06S Zaku II J.Ridden's Custom" (P-Bandai exclusive; 2013): box art MG_Char%27s_Zaku_II_Ver._2.0_%28Mechanical_Clear_Ver.%29.jpg|1/100 MG "MS-06S Zaku II Ver. 2.0 (Mechanical Clear Ver.)" (The Art of Gundam Exhibit exclusive; 2015): box art MG Zaku II (Char Aznable Custom) Ver.2.0 -Solid Clear Standard-.jpg|1/100 MG "MS-06S Zaku II (Char Aznable Custom) Ver.2.0 Clear/Standard" (Banpresto exclusive; 2019): box art OldCharZaku-72.jpg|1/72 Machanic Model Char's Zaku (1981): box art OldCharZaku-60.jpg|1/60 Original Char's Zaku (1980): box art PG_ZAKU_II_CHARS.jpg|1/60 PG MS-06S Zaku II (Char Aznable Custom) (1999): box art PG Char's Zaku II -Mastermind Japan Ver.-.jpg|1/60 PG MS-06S Char's Zaku II Japan Ver. (STRICT-G Diver City Tokyo exclusive; 2018): box art MSM Char's Zaku II.jpg|1/48 Mega Size Model MS-06S Char's Zaku II (2010): box art MSM-Zaku-GFT.jpg|1/48 Mega Size Model MS-06S Char's Zaku II (Ver. GFT) (2012): box art BB Senshi 231.jpg|SDBB MS-06S Char's Zaku II (2002): box art SDCS Char's Zaku II.jpg|SDCS MS-06S Char's Zaku II (2020): box art Ms-06s-rg-illust.jpg|RG 1/144 MS-06S Zaku II Char Aznable Custom - Illustration Ms-06s-rg-detail.jpg|RG 1/144 MS-06S Zaku II Char Aznable Custom - Illustration detail CHAR'S ZAKU.jpg | Char's Zaku HGUC-CharZakuII-711.jpg|Limited edition HGUC 7-Eleven Zaku II Action Figures MSiA_ms06s_p01_original.jpg|Mobile Suit in Action (MSiA / MIA) "MS-06S Char's Zaku II" (Asian release; 1999): package front view MSiA_ms06s_TetsuToys_p01.jpg|MSiA / MIA "MS-06F Zaku II" (Asian limited "Tetsu Toys" edition; 2000): package front view MSiA_ms06s_p02_USA_original.jpg|MSiA / MIA "MS-06S Char's Zaku II" (North American release; 2001): package front view MSiA_ms06s_2ndVer_p01_Original.jpg|MSiA / MIA "MS-06S Char's Zaku II (Second Version)" (Asian original; 2002): package front view MSiA_ms06s_2ndVer_p02_Reissue.jpg|MSiA / MIA "MS-06S Char's Zaku II (Second Version)" (Asian re-issue with MS data card; 2004): package front view EMSiA_ms06s_p01_front.jpg|Extended Mobile Suit in Action (ExMSiA / EMIA) "MS-06S Char's Zaku II" (2005): package front view EMSiA_ms06s_p02_back.jpg|ExMSiA / EMIA "MS-06S Char's Zaku II" (2005): package rear view. RobotDamashii_ms-06s_verANIME_Char_p01.jpg|Robot Damashii "MS-06S Zaku II Char's Custom Model Ver. A.N.I.M.E." (2016): package front view RobotDamashii_TamashiiStage_EFFZeon_verANIME_p02_sample.jpg|Robot Damashii "Tamashii Stage Ver. A.N.I.M.E. Federation Blue Color & Principality of Zeon Red Color" figure stage sets (Tamashii Web "Earth Federation vs. Principality of Zeon" Campaign exclusive; 2017): product sample with Gundam (Ver. A.N.I.M.E.) pairs with Federation's blue stage (left) and Char's Zaku II (Ver. A.N.I.M.E.) pairs with Zeon's red stage (right) KadoSenshi_MS-06S_Zaku_II.jpg|Kado Senshi "MS-06S Char's Zaku" (1999): box art Notes and Trivia *In Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3, The unit has a special ability called Triple Speed which enhances the speed of the Zaku, interestingly, it is only activated if Char Aznable is chosen as the pilot, a possible reference to his abilities to push the Mobile Suit to its maximum capabilities. *In Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 and 3'', Lunamaria Hawke defaults to this Zaku due to the fact that neither her Gunner ZAKU nor the Impulse Gundam were brought into the game. With ''Dynasty Warriors Gundam Reborn, she has both and thus will most likely not default to this suit any longer. References 4759578328 7612c6bb04 b.jpg|Johnny Ridden's Customized Zaku II 4758942813 efc69c6d40 b.jpg|Johnny Ridden's Zaku II - Technical Data/Design 5675670.png|Black Tri-Stars Zaku II MSV-R - MS-06S Zaku II0.jpg|MSV-R - Black Tri-Stars Zaku II - Technical Data/Design MSV-R - MS-06S Zaku II1.jpg|MSV-R - Black Tri-Stars Zaku II - Technical Data/Design 06S 01.jpg 06S 02.jpg External links *MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type on MAHQ.net *MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type (Black Tri Stars Custom) on MAHQ *MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type (Johnny Ridden Custom) on MAHQ ja:MS-06S シャア専用ザクII